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Cherry-picked from preeminent schools, programs, and circles, the instructors at Academy of Performing Arts share not only their extensive experience as dancers, but also their knowledge from their time spent in the world of professional dance. As leaders of a number of classes, they get participants moving during sessions suited for a range of experience levels and grouped as such. The studio offers both traditional dance classes such as Irish dancing, modern, hip hop, jazz, tap, and ballet, as well as fitness-oriented Zumba, pilates, and yoga.

Instructor Nataliya Saborio draws upon her award-winning competitive dance career in Ukraine to lead a schedule of 60-minute belly-dance sessions stratified into three difficulty levels. Dancers need no prior experience to pick up modalities such as current class topic Egyptian pop beledi. The Middle Eastern cocktail of classic belly-dance movements, isolations, and shimmies syncs to beledi beats as energizing and addicting as a caffeinated Twinkie. On March 12, the curriculum will shift to focus on folkloric dances from locales such as Tunisia and Morocco that together constitute the foundation of belly dance. By studying the various incarnations of the sinuous, abdomen-centered art form, students will slim their figures, build flexibility, and boost their ability to crack walnuts with their abs.

More than half a century ago, three partners raised a vibrant, multicolored tent on an underdeveloped industrial site and established the Westbury Music Fair. It followed its first production, The King and I, with a decade of top-name talent and Broadway musicals. Then, recognizing its place on the theater scene was permanent, it planted its roots as a fully enclosed theater-in-the-round. Expanding its repertoire to match its new digs, the theater showcased performers such as The Who, Bruce Springsteen, and Julie Andrews. Today, past a lounge blazing in purple and red lights, guests find that same circular stage hosting equally great musical acts, musical theater, and competitive musical chairs.

Hershey Theatre
The Hershey Theatre, conceived in 1933 by noted philanthropist and chocolatier Milton S. Hershey, stands as an opulent tribute to the performing arts. Taking architectural cues from Saint Mark’s Basilica in Venice, the foyer’s towering arches gleam with golden paint and crystal chandeliers. The blue-and-gold mosaic that leads to the main seating area is the masterwork of two German artists who spent two years on its construction. Once inside the theater, audiences might think they’ve stepped onto the streets of Venice thanks to the atmospheric ceiling, stonework facades, and gondoliers paddling them to their seats.
####Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
Music has permeated the 800 manicured acres where the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts has stood since 1969, when farmer Max Yasgur agreed to let love, peace, and harmony grow wild at the very first Woodstock festival. These days, the renowned outdoor venue and cultural center continues to attract the biggest acts in music to its pavilion stage. The open-air design ensures ample ventilation on the natural sloping lawn, and a roof protects up to 15,000 fans from inclement weather and the prying eyes of Cessna pilots.

The jazz standard ?Flying Home? brought Savoy Swing Club?s founders together in 1993 at a dance camp, after which the group of friends began meeting regularly to keep the choreography fresh in their minds. The troupe?s dedication to the lindy hop and other jazz-era dances gradually blossomed into the club?s current calendar of professionally staffed classes, workshops, and dance events. Classes grouped by skill level progressively transform students with two left feet or three right toes into fleet-footed hoofers, imparting classic moves that help nurture a sense of rhythm and speed. Each week, students of all levels can take part in Savoy Mondays, a decade-long tradition, as DJs and a single trumpeting swan provide background music for dancers to sharpen their moves. And on the first and third Fridays of every month, the basement of the local Bagel Deli becomes the Blues Underground, where a free introductory blues lesson is followed by a late night of dancing.

Pole Sinsations empowers women and men of all ages and fitness levels by using sensual dance techniques to provide full-body workouts. The studio space features seven 12-foot brass poles and stage lighting, creating a noncompetitive, confidence-boosting performance space for attendees looking to express themselves through dance. During the introductory-level classes, instructors will teach fundamental hand and foot placement while helping newcomers control the speed and momentum of basic spins. As students become more skilled and build flexibility, core strength, and muscle tone, they can begin practicing inversions and even develop choreographed routines that combine floorwork with pole techniques. Chair-dancing and flexibility classes round out the studio's schedule of empowering, dance-based workouts.